It is a great problem to have but this team simply has too much talent to retain it all.  The team is already at the edge of the salary cap but lets observe some issues coming in the next season or two.

Trevor is going to get paid 6 figures.  I am guessing in the $25-$60 million dollar a year range.  Huge cap hit

Calvin Ridley looks like he is going to be a star with Trevor.  He is going to be due a monster congtact

Josh Allen: He has not been the dominant force we all expected but yesterday maybe an indication he could become that guy.  He is going to get paid by somebody. A good player regardless!

Tyson Campbell:  I would put him in the top 10 CB's today.  He is going to get a monster contract

Cisco: I like the drink and I like the player.  He is a solid db who is going to get paid by us or somebody else


There are others but Key players are really hard to hand onto, especially after you pay the QB.  This or next year maybe the best time to win due to rookie contracts expiring soon on key players.  Throughts?

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Yes, but our window is 15 years wide.

/thread

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This team has been in Win Now Mode since they wised up and hired Doug Pederson.

The salary cap is not the Bogeyman everyone makes it out to be. Do you really see any teams that are legitimately in salary cap trouble? Any that are losing because of the cap? I don't. The worst two cap situations in the League are Philly and the Bills, do you think they are worried about the cap? The world champion chefs are 7th most favorable on the list, is the cap a problem there? Right now we're $20 million under the cap next year. Even with some big contracts coming down we aren't anywhere near in trouble.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

We have a long window ahead of us

It starts now and ends whenever we no longer have Lawrence and Pederson

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I hope they manage to structure Trevor's new contract wisely.

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I don't think our situation is all that bad.  According to OTC, we are $30.6 million under the cap next year.  Cutting Cam Robinson will save us another $17.8 million.  When combined, that's $48.4 million under the cap.  I know we have players to sign, but that's a lot of space.

Keep in mind that when signing a player to a long term contract, the salary cap hit in the first year is typically fairly low.  We also have plenty of contracts that we can restructure if we want.  If really needed, there are options of players to cut.  I would consider Scherff ($9.1 million) or Jenkins ($5.1 million) to be the top candidates.  If we cut them post June 1st, the savings increase to $16.5 million for Scherff and $9.0 million for Jenkins.  Guard and safety are non-premium positions that are fairly easy to find.

Having the coach and quarterback are huge to a team's success.  If Baalke drafts well, I think this team can be good for the long term.

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I don't think our situation is all that bad.  According to OTC, we are $30.6 million under the cap next year.  Cutting Cam Robinson will save us another $17.8 million.  When combined, that's $48.4 million under the cap.  I know we have players to sign, but that's a lot of space.

Keep in mind that when signing a player to a long term contract, the salary cap hit in the first year is typically fairly low.  We also have plenty of contracts that we can restructure if we want.  If really needed, there are options of players to cut.  I would consider Scherff ($9.1 million) or Jenkins ($5.1 million) to be the top candidates.  If we cut them post June 1st, the savings increase to $16.5 million for Scherff and $9.0 million for Jenkins.  Guard and safety are non-premium positions that are fairly easy to find.

Having the coach and quarterback are huge to a team's success.  If Baalke drafts well, I think this team can be good for the long term.

Extending Allen is an absolute must. I said it all of last season (even when people were crying to trade him) and again during the off season that it was going to be a mistake to let him play out his final year and test FA. Only been 1 game, but so far it's holding true and I don't see it changing. OLB is already very weak depth wise and if we lose him that position group will be in complete shambles. It's already close.

And for the people who just like to say "herp derp just draft his replacement", if all goes as planned we'll be picking towards the end of the 1st round. Good luck finding an Edge player that late in the 1st, aint happening.

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Cardiac cats are back in form. We don't have to do it pretty every week. We have a very competitive team and I would just like to keep that intact as long as possible.

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It is a great problem to have but this team simply has too much talent to retain it all.  The team is already at the edge of the salary cap but lets observe some issues coming in the next season or two.

Trevor is going to get paid 6 figures.  I am guessing in the $25-$60 million dollar a year range.  Huge cap hit

Calvin Ridley looks like he is going to be a star with Trevor.  He is going to be due a monster congtact

Josh Allen: He has not been the dominant force we all expected but yesterday maybe an indication he could become that guy.  He is going to get paid by somebody. A good player regardless!

Tyson Campbell:  I would put him in the top 10 CB's today.  He is going to get a monster contract

Cisco: I like the drink and I like the player.  He is a solid db who is going to get paid by us or somebody else


There are others but Key players are really hard to hand onto, especially after you pay the QB.  This or next year maybe the best time to win due to rookie contracts expiring soon on key players.  Throughts?

As a fan, I just want to make the playoffs for the next 4 to 6 years and be one of the best teams in the NFL like in 1996 up until 2001. (I know we didn’t make the playoffs in 2000 and 2001), but we still had Fred, Jimmy, and Mark.

On the players and coaches side of things, there goal every year is Super Bowl. These boys are getting paid to do a job, and with the business side of things, in a competitive sport of the most elite talent on the planet, their goal every year is Super Bowl. 

There’s no guarantee any of them will be here next season. Injuries happen and it’s a week to week type of business. There’s not 1 player on the team that will tell anyone “We’re trying to get better everyday and hopefully go for a Super Bowl in a couple of years.”

The answer to your question is yes. Teams are in win now mode every week, every season. Teams with rookie QBs too. Hell Rothlisberger won a Super Bowl in his rookie season and the Steelers went 13-1.

Everything else is fan speak. 

It ain’t like Ridley is out there saying let’s go get wins, and somebody like Bigsby says “nah fam, let’s wait a couple of years until I get better.”

The reality is Trevor Lawrence might be here the next 7 years, maybe 10 years or he could not be here after 3 or 4 more years. Players age, production falls of, etc Jimmy Smith waited 5 calendar years to become a full time starter and I’d bet the farm he was in win-now mode every time he stepped on the field.

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Nothing different that what other good teams experience.

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What?

Win now mode is an expression for older teams who's window of opportunity is coming to a close.

Our widow of opportunity is just starting to open.

Our QB hasn't even reached his prime years yet.

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It is a great problem to have but this team simply has too much talent to retain it all.  The team is already at the edge of the salary cap but lets observe some issues coming in the next season or two.

Trevor is going to get paid 6 figures.  I am guessing in the $25-$60 million dollar a year range.  Huge cap hit

Calvin Ridley looks like he is going to be a star with Trevor.  He is going to be due a monster congtact

Josh Allen: He has not been the dominant force we all expected but yesterday maybe an indication he could become that guy.  He is going to get paid by somebody. A good player regardless!

Tyson Campbell:  I would put him in the top 10 CB's today.  He is going to get a monster contract

Cisco: I like the drink and I like the player.  He is a solid db who is going to get paid by us or somebody else


There are others but Key players are really hard to hand onto, especially after you pay the QB.  This or next year maybe the best time to win due to rookie contracts expiring soon on key players.  Throughts?

As a fan, I just want to make the playoffs for the next 4 to 6 years and be one of the best teams in the NFL like in 1996 up until 2001. (I know we didn’t make the playoffs in 2000 and 2001), but we still had Fred, Jimmy, and Mark.

On the players and coaches side of things, there goal every year is Super Bowl. These boys are getting paid to do a job, and with the business side of things, in a competitive sport of the most elite talent on the planet, their goal every year is Super Bowl. 

There’s no guarantee any of them will be here next season. Injuries happen and it’s a week to week type of business. There’s not 1 player on the team that will tell anyone “We’re trying to get better everyday and hopefully go for a Super Bowl in a couple of years.”

The answer to your question is yes. Teams are in win now mode every week, every season. Teams with rookie QBs too. Hell Rothlisberger won a Super Bowl in his rookie season and the Steelers went 13-1.

Everything else is fan speak. 

It ain’t like Ridley is out there saying let’s go get wins, and somebody like Bigsby says “nah fam, let’s wait a couple of years until I get better.”

The reality is Trevor Lawrence might be here the next 7 years, maybe 10 years or he could not be here after 3 or 4 more years. Players age, production falls of, etc Jimmy Smith waited 5 calendar years to become a full time starter and I’d bet the farm he was in win-now mode every time he stepped on the field.

(Big Ben was 1-1 in the playoffs his rookie year)

I think every coach saying every year the goal is the superboal is just as much coachspeak as you say everything else is fanspeak. Coaches, GMs and owners certainly better have a feel for realistic outlooks of their roster or they'll be doomed to churn through coaches and players faster than Jim Irsay.

The ultimate goal may be the big show, yes, but the realistic goal for a lot of teams is postseason. Get there, get ready, and let your preparation prove your mettle. For other teams, like say AZ, it's more about gaining experience and winning one week. Nobody plans to fail. But remember Denny Green's "They are who we thought they were?" Sometimes reality has to put a damper on optimism.

With respect to the question of "are we in win now mode", I don't think that's the philosophy around here. Remember the Vic adage, "Take care of the future and the future will take care of the present" - it flies in the face of win now thinking - don't strap yourself today for a singular swing at the title. Be smart about how you spend and you'll be able to keep spending when you need it, or you won't have to gut the team and miss out on even making the postseason (remember, that's the primary goal). Given that we didn't panic buy any pass rush help in the preseason is a pretty sure sign that we are not going to spend frivolously for a limited chance at a run.

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There’s no way they keep Kirk on the books

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Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.

Teams will be willing to overpay a good team's mediocre players, like we used to do and still be terrible. Like if we don't pay up for Josh Allen, he will for sure be somewhere else next year. Walker needs to get better.

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As a fan, I just want to make the playoffs for the next 4 to 6 years and be one of the best teams in the NFL like in 1996 up until 2001. (I know we didn’t make the playoffs in 2000 and 2001), but we still had Fred, Jimmy, and Mark.

On the players and coaches side of things, there goal every year is Super Bowl. These boys are getting paid to do a job, and with the business side of things, in a competitive sport of the most elite talent on the planet, their goal every year is Super Bowl. 

There’s no guarantee any of them will be here next season. Injuries happen and it’s a week to week type of business. There’s not 1 player on the team that will tell anyone “We’re trying to get better everyday and hopefully go for a Super Bowl in a couple of years.”

The answer to your question is yes. Teams are in win now mode every week, every season. Teams with rookie QBs too. Hell Rothlisberger won a Super Bowl in his rookie season and the Steelers went 13-1.

Everything else is fan speak. 

It ain’t like Ridley is out there saying let’s go get wins, and somebody like Bigsby says “nah fam, let’s wait a couple of years until I get better.”

The reality is Trevor Lawrence might be here the next 7 years, maybe 10 years or he could not be here after 3 or 4 more years. Players age, production falls of, etc Jimmy Smith waited 5 calendar years to become a full time starter and I’d bet the farm he was in win-now mode every time he stepped on the field.

(Big Ben was 1-1 in the playoffs his rookie year)

I think every coach saying every year the goal is the superboal is just as much coachspeak as you say everything else is fanspeak. Coaches, GMs and owners certainly better have a feel for realistic outlooks of their roster or they'll be doomed to churn through coaches and players faster than Jim Irsay.

The ultimate goal may be the big show, yes, but the realistic goal for a lot of teams is postseason. Get there, get ready, and let your preparation prove your mettle. For other teams, like say AZ, it's more about gaining experience and winning one week. Nobody plans to fail. But remember Denny Green's "They are who we thought they were?" Sometimes reality has to put a damper on optimism.

With respect to the question of "are we in win now mode", I don't think that's the philosophy around here. Remember the Vic adage, "Take care of the future and the future will take care of the present" - it flies in the face of win now thinking - don't strap yourself today for a singular swing at the title. Be smart about how you spend and you'll be able to keep spending when you need it, or you won't have to gut the team and miss out on even making the postseason (remember, that's the primary goal). Given that we didn't panic buy any pass rush help in the preseason is a pretty sure sign that we are not going to spend frivolously for a limited chance at a run.

Correction. Roethlisberger lost 1 game his rookie season which was the AFC Championship. He won a Super Bowl in his first year as the starting QB.

A team don’t have to spend frivolously for a limited chance at a run. A team can realize they can’t keep all of their current players. 

I agree we’re not in win now mode from a fans stand point. Either way, players go out and play and whatever happens happens.

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I think that Tony Khan is going to do great things for this team once he is handed over the reigns as owner.

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Respect the game.  Play with a sense of urgency. 


1.)  Take care of the ball.  Win the turnover battle.

2.)  It's all about 3rd down.  Win on 3rd down to win the game.

3.) Playmakers make plays.  The only reason that you put your uniform on is to make plays. In order to EARN your paycheck, you must make plays.  

Learn from the great collapse of 2023.  

I think that Tony Khan is going to do great things for this team once he is handed over the reigns as owner.

And what evidence is there that this would be the case? AEW is run like utter dog [BLEEP]. I would argue once the old man is gone we are likely in deep trouble.

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I think that Tony Khan is going to do great things for this team once he is handed over the reigns as owner.

And what evidence is there that this would be the case? AEW is run like utter dog [BLEEP]. I would argue once the old man is gone we are likely in deep trouble.

Not that running AEW has anything at all to do with being the owner of an NFL team, they couldn't be more different, but AEW is steadily taking market share from its competitors more and more - and AEW  just broke the all time ticket sales record for a pro wrestling event outselling Wrestlemania 2016's prior mark. 

What specifically do you not like about Tony Khan? 

Tony seems like a smart guy that has been the guiding force behind some great UDFA additions to this team. He has had the opportunity to see things done poorly in Jacksonville and now he gets to see them done well. This is valuable experience. 

I have quite a bit of confidence he is already a positive influence and will be more than ready if the time should come for this franchise to stay in the family in the event Shad steps down for whatever reason.

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